Record turnout for Time Out for TechArkansas Tech University welcomed the largest high school senior turnout in the 16-year history of its Time Out for Tech preview event on Thursday. There were 1,683 high school seniors on hand for the opening session at Tucker Coliseum. Including parents and families, approximately 3,200 individuals attended Time Out for Tech 2015. The opening session was followed by academic break-out sessions, campus tours, lunch at the various dining option...

Russellville school board approves one-time exit incentive for employeesThe Russellville Board of Education voted Tuesday to offer a one-time incentive to eligible teachers, administrators and classified staff as a way to cut more than $1.9 million from the Russellville School District’s budget over the next eight years. Certified employees who voluntarily retire or otherwise leave the district at the end of this school year and are eligible for the package will receive $40,000 plus pay for accrued sick leave paid...

House panel OKs Hutchinson's education proposalLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee on Tuesday unanimously supported Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan and campaign promise to offer computer science courses to high school students. Public high schools would be required to offer the "high-quality" virtual courses starting in the fall but students would not be required to take them. The bulk of the bill approved by the House Committee on Education details the formation of a task force to e...

House panel rejects larger class size proposalLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee has rejected a Senate bill that would allow public schools to temporarily exceed the maximum allowed class size. Members of the House Committee on Education on Tuesday voted against the proposal after teachers and parents voiced concerns that larger class sizes would burden educators and students. The bill would allow public schools to exceed the maximum class size by up to two students for one se...

Officials warn of wheat fungal infectionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Officials say a fungus that harms wheat crops has been found in central and eastern Arkansas. The University of Arkansas System's Cooperative Extension Service said Monday that stripe rust has been found in Jefferson, Lincoln and Lee counties. Extension officials say the disease is the most important wheat ailment for wheat growers to monitor. They say it has appeared earlier this growing season than usual but cooler tempera...

Burnett elected as chairman of boardEric Burnett of Fort Smith was elected by his fellow trustees to serve as chairman of the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees for the 2015 calendar year during a meeting at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on Thursday. Burnett is the head boys’ basketball coach at Fort Smith Northside High School. He was named to that position in April 2010 after spending the previous five seasons in the same role at Springdale Har-Ber...

ATU trustees hear presentation on service learning initiativesTwo faculty members and three students made a presentation to the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees on Thursday about the difference that service learning initiatives made for them and the surrounding community during the 2014 calendar year. The presentation was part of the regular monthly meeting for trustees at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center. Dr. Monica Varner and Dr. Jason Warnick from the Arkansas Tech College ...

PHS raises funds for March of DimesPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville High School (PHS) Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) spent some time this year focused on charitable organizations. It recently conducted a fundraiser for the March of Dimes Foundation. The March of Dimes is a global organization whose mission is to "help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies." Through the FBLA's efforts, PHS was able to donate $544.82 to...

Clarksville enters into agreement with semi-pro teamCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville Board of Education was informed of an agreement between the school district and a semi-professional football team during its meeting Monday. Assistant Superintendent Steven Wyatt told the board the Arkansas Raptors recently entered into an agreement to use the football field and facilities this spring. The team will pay $500 per game and plans to use the field for five games, Wyatt said. The team will manage the a...

College to study adding optometry schoolCONWAY (AP) — A central Arkansas college says it will study whether it's feasible to establish an optometry school, which would be the first in the state. University of Central Arkansas officials say a health-care consulting group has been hired to outline the pros and cons of developing the school on its Conway campus. The study, which will examine current and projected needs of optometrists in Arkansas, is set to start in March and finish by...

UAMS startup gets $14.5M to develop therapies for meth usersLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences startup company has received $14.5 million in federal grants to develop drug therapies aiming to help methamphetamine abusers break their addiction. The company, InterveXion Therapeutics LLC, will develop therapies to reduce or prevent the euphoric rush that drug users crave by keeping methamphetamine in the bloodstream and out of the brain — where the drug exerts its most powerf...

Kronberger appointed to Tech trustee boardArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed Fritz Kronberger of Russellville to a five-year term on the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees. The announcement of appointment was made by Gov. Hutchinson on Monday. Kronberger’s term will expire on Jan. 14, 2020. It will be the second time that Kronberger has served on the ATU Board of Trustees. He was previously a member of the board from 2005-10. Joining Kronberger on the Board of Trustees dur...

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Sam Strasner and Courier StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

State board votes to take over Little Rock School DistrictLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to take control of Little Rock schools less than six months after a federal judge granted more independence to the historically embattled district and ended a quarter-century of payments to boost integration. The state last year classified six of the district's 48 schools as being in academic distress after fewer than half of the students attending them scored at proficient lev...

Local students win statewide investment programArkansas River Valley students were recently honored with second-place awards for their work in a statewide investment and saving simulation program. Five students from Russellville Upper Elementary Fifth Grade (UE5G) and four students from S.C. Tucker Elementary School in Danville each won the second-place prize in their respective divisions in a 10-week session of the Stock Market Game Program. The students were awarded trophies and cash pri...

Resources available for RSD parentsRussellville School District parents seeking ways to help their elementary children with homework now have an online resource. Director of Elementary Curriculum and Instruction Chris Barnes presented the elementary instruction website to board members, principals and parents during the recent school board meeting. The website is designed to help parents become more involved in their children’s literacy, math and science lessons and homework th...

Quiz Bowl places secondThe Russellville High School (RHS) Quiz Bowl team competed in the Benton Invitational Tournament earlier this month. The Cyclone varsity team finished 5-2 on the day, which was good enough for a second-place finish in the 20-team Upper Division bracket. In Game 1 of the seeding round, the Cyclones defeated North Little Rock 265-140. Game 2 was a back-and-forth battle between the Cyclones and defending state 3A champion Episcopal Collegiate (Li...

Davis new coach of Lady WildcatsHECTOR — The Hector Board of Education met in a special called meeting Thursday to formalize the rearrangement of employee duties made necessary by the resignation of girls basketball coach and physical education teacher Tiffany Phillips earlier this month. Superintendent Walt Davis has assumed responsibilities as head coach of the senior Lady Wildcats. Mark Taylor, head football coach and athletic director, has been assigned as assistant of b...

RSD explains the PARCC examWhat is PARCC, and why is my child required to take it? Russellville School District Test Coordinator Judy Pennington presented common misconceptions concerning the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam during the Russellville Board of Education meeting Tuesday at the administration building. PARCC exams are computer-based assessments in math, language arts and literacy to measure if students are on a suc...